As Told By Tinkles
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day one hundred and seventy-six: New Directions' trusty piano player is all about helping them, returning the favor.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a second cycle, and then a third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eigth cycle. Which MEANS **cycle 9** is here, which MEANS... GLEE IS BACK!! YAY!_

* * *

**"As Told by Tinkles"  
Brad**

They never knew his name, not at first. But if he did his job right, and he liked to think he did, he became a friend before long, one they could trust to see their music brought to life. He knew what it meant to have someone like that.

He was no singer, never was. But when he was in school, there was a girl… Helena… First time he heard her sing, it took his breath away. She was the one in Glee Club, he was just the kid who would sneak in to play the piano in the auditorium because it was so much better than the one in his basement. One day, he had been playing, and she'd come in. He startled, but it just made her laugh.

They had talked for a while, and he'd played for her as she sang. His hands might have tripped over the keys if he wasn't so drawn into the music. And after that, she had invited him to drop by their rehearsals. When he did, he met their piano player, Mr. Franklin. He was a good friend to the group, and he was good about letting him hang around, use and better his talents. Mr. Franklin would remain a mentor kind of figure to him.

When he'd come to work for McKinley High he found, much to his dismay, that their club was not in too good of a shape. He never got along with that Ryerson man, and he tried to associate with him as little as possible. As soon as he'd found out that Ryerson was out and Will Schuester was in, he sought out the Spanish teacher, knowing he'd been part of the '93 team, and offered his services, for the auditions and beyond.

There weren't that many of them at first, but knowing the school, he could hardly be surprised. A few did come out of the woodworks though, and as he accompanied them through their auditions he knew he'd remember this moment with them, this first exposure.

He'd remember Mercedes as having this power that just blew everything off its feet like a concussive blast. He'd remember Kurt as someone with a calm sort of confidence on stage, not unlike Artie, who commanded attention with his voice, music. He'd remember Tina as a secret power… you'd never suspect her until she started to sing. And Rachel… well, he already knew of her, it was hard not to, in his capacity as a piano player. He knew her as the kind of talent that was undeniable, even if it came with… complications of character.

The next few months, he'd finally had the Glee Club experience he remembered from his days… a lot more drama, but reminiscent nonetheless. Beyond everything that was happening to them though, he was there to see these good moments, when they came on stage or they got up in rehearsal, and they sang with all their hearts.

At the same time, it was revealing itself to be an experience that changed you, for both himself and the kids. He was part of it all, and he got to live through the things they did.

When Will had set the kids with the challenge to live part of their days with Artie's perspective, in loaner wheelchairs, he'd shown his solidarity, both to Artie and the rest of the group, by taking his own wheelchair journey with them.

And then there would be other moments, ones where he'd just play his piano and try not to… intervene. He'd figured it was only a matter of time before one of the girls made a pass at Will, and there was no surprise when that someone turned out to be Rachel. He'd seen it before, he'd seen it with Will Schuester before… that poor Pepper girl… No, he was going to just keep doing his job and keep out of it, hoping there wouldn't be too much damage in the end.

It always fixed itself in the end, and they would get back to moments of pure and unadulterated appreciation for music that they shared. He felt that this came with the demonstration from the Haverbrook Glee Club. He sat out the performance to allow their director to play himself, but that was fine. He was able to sit and watch his twelve moving in to join their visitors. He swore it was in times like these where he wished he was a kid again, and that he had, well… a voice.

Finally it came time for their first big competition… Sectionals. He decided to surprise them, not telling them he would be there. This would reveal itself to be a good idea, for all of them.

When he heard the first group's songs, he felt a bit of outrage for his club, realizing how they'd been cheated. And that only got worse as the second group had also partaken in this theft. After he saw the kids head out in the middle of the performance, he got up and went to see Emma before heading out to find the kids.

He peeked in to the room and found most of them huddled around a table, talking. Rachel was not with them, just standing, thinking… He cleared his throat, and she looked up. She blinked, then smiled, then grinned and went up to hug him.

"Brad? What are you…" He looked up, seeing as the others looked as well, reacting and moving to greet him.

"Well I wanted to surprise you guys after the show, but uh… I have a feeling you might need me now?" he ventured.

"We do," Rachel nodded, still smiling. "We really do."

"Alright, what do I do?"

He worked with them for a while, then he had to wish them good luck and get back to his seat.

Helena was reading through the program when he came back and sat. She looked at him, with those eyes of hers, full of concern. "Are they okay?" He smiled and nodded.

"They'll do fine." After a moment he gave her a look. "Bringing back memories?" She laughed.

"I remember how nervous I'd be… My stomach hurts on reflex," she joked.

Finally, the show would start. He gave Helena a quick tap on the hand and indicated for her to look back to the curtains. He was glad to be there for them, and he was glad that she was there to see it. It was all thanks to her that he'd even been there. She'd taken his breath away years ago, and he was fine with her keeping it.

THE END


End file.
